Chelsea 2-3 Man United: A Closer Look at the Contentious Second Half Calls

More than 24 hours have passed since the final whistle was blown to signal the end of the big game on Sunday.

Nine-man hosts Chelsea went down battling against Manchester United, as most of you would know. The final score of 3-2, in favor of the Red Devils, tells us a lot about the game, and yet so little.

I'm hoping the dust has settled somewhat, and assuming too that most fans from both sets of sides have now regained their composure.

Here's hoping you lot find yourselves in a more balanced position to discuss the happenings from a cool, dark evening at Stamford Bridge.

After a highly controversial top-of-the-table clash in the Barclays Premier League, match referee Mark Clattenburg has come under the microscope, and with reason.

He, along with his team of officials, made a number of contentious calls that shaped the game. Whether they got them right or wrong is up for debate. Here I deliver my verdict on the big decisions that could have gone either way.

Fernando Torres' Second Yellow

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I've got one word for this: Ludicrous.

Torres had been cautioned just before the interval; a booking he certainly merited for a high boot on Tom Cleverley.

In the second half, with the Blues already down to ten men, Torres went to ground under Johnny Evans' apparent challenge when just outside the box. Mark Clattenburg, it seems, was convinced Chelsea's No. 9 had dived, and with the blink of an eye, Torres too was given his marching orders.

While the Spaniard went down a bit easily, replays confirmed there was contact from Evans. In retrospect, that was a very harsh second yellow. A game that was proving to be a neutral's delight had now been marred by the ref's double red in the space of five minutes.

Verdict: The referee gets it all wrong, and with that, Chelsea's chances of winning evaporate.